Just a quick update today. I’ve added “minimize” and “maximize” buttons to Cookie Jar, as per Paul D’s request. You can now download the new Cookie Jar 1.0.1.

This will most likely be the last update of 2001. I hope everyone has had a great holiday season so far and I hope that everyone has a happy and healthy new year. To end the year right, I’ve decided to beef up an app of mine that’s fallen a bit into neglect. Cookie Jar was the first program I released (way back on March 18th) and I’ve always meant to add some more features to it as well as an installer and uninstaller. Well, now I have. I’ve changed some of the code behind the scenes so that Cookie Jar is using more built-in Windows APIs. This means that, when you delete a cookie, it will now be deleted from the Temporary Internet Files as well. No more “cookie ghosts” hanging around your system. Cookie Jar should also load faster. The installer/uninstaller I’ve added should help ease installing Cookie Jar to and uninstalling Cookie Jar from your system. You can download the new version of Cookie Jar from here



I’d recommend removing your current version of Cookie Jar before installing this one. To do this, first run Cookie Jar and uncheck the Quick Delete settings. Now exit Cookie Jar and delete the executable file. You can keep the dat files around so you don’t have to reenter Allowed/Banned sites. Next, install the new version of Cookie Jar. Finally, copy the dat files into the new Cookie Jar directory.

I’ve been working to squash some bugs that I (and others) found within Script Sentry and Cookie Jar. Nothing show-stopping, but some annoying little bugs. I was wondering if I should hold off releasing the new versions until all the bugs were squashed or do a series of minor releases as I get each bug. In the end, I decided not to hold off on bug fixes that might solve problems that people might be having. So expect to hear of some minor-version upgrades to Script Sentry and Cookie Jar over the next few days. If the upgrade doesn’t address a bug you encountered, there’s no real need to upgrade (unless you really want to).



The first minor-release is Script Sentry v2.1.2. This fixes an error that would pop up if you checked a script on a network path. (Along the lines of \\computer_name\folder\file.) It also updates the Check For Updates URL and the contact e-mail address.

Well, the wedding and honeymoon went off without a hitch. (I actually got back from DisneyWorld last week, but it took me a bit to get settled back in.) Now I just have to dig myself out of the huge pile of e-mail that was waiting in my Inbox.



As my first post-wedding update, I’d like to announce that I’ve posted a fixed version of the “Test Your E-mail Defenses” script. This should fix a problem that some Win2K users were experiencing.



The responses from the E-mail Defense Test have yielded an interesting security hole of sorts when ZoneAlarm and Script Sentry are on the same machine. ZoneAlarm can quarantine VBS scripts using its MailSafe feature. When it does so it gives a prompt that the file is possibly malicious. However, it also gives the file a new .zlv extension (which ZoneAlarm sets up to run with the Windows Scripting Host just like .vbs). Script Sentry doesn’t (yet) recognize .zlv files. I’m going to add that in to a future version. Not something to really worry about. ZoneAlarm’s interception is good. (Although I’m partial to the extra info Script Sentry gives. But then again, I’m biased.



Hopefully, I’ll have time soon to work on some updates to Script Sentry and Cookie Jar. Plus a new program I have in the works. I’ll keep you posted.

Ok, the patched version appears to be working properly now, so I’m releasing it as version 0.4.5. Thanks to everyone for your patience. Download the new version of Cookie Jar from http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/cookiejar.asp

Remember in the last update when I said “if you download it and find that it doesn’t work….Report the bug to me”? Guess my words came back to haunt me. Version 0.4.0 had some glaring errors that never should have made it out of the gate. Basically some bugs kept it from remembering the allowed and banned sites and kept it from deleting cookies. (Which pretty much render the program useless.) I have a “Patched” version, but I’m holding it back for more testing this time. (Of course, if you want to download it, give it a once over, and report how it works to me, feel free to download it.) I should have it debugged by tomorrow, but I don’t want to rush another buggy version out the door. Thanks for your patience.

Wow, what a day it’s been. I signed on this morning to see that Fred Langa featured me on his LangaList. Given that the LangaList reaches more than 160,000 people, I guess it’s to be expected that I had quite a few messages in my Inbox about Cookie Jar.


Some of these messages uncovered a hidden (even from me) requirement of Cookie Jar. It seems that some code I used requires that you have Windows Scripting Host on your computer. Most installations have it and the code is quite common, so I hadn’t run into any problems yet. I’ve changed the Cookie Jar page to reflect this change and I’ll work on a small app which will let you know which, if any, of the required programs you need.


I’ve also uploaded a new version of Cookie Jar (version 0.4.0) which should fix some problems and adds a new feature. Remember, if you download it and find that it doesn’t work, don’t just give up on it. Report the bug to me at jasonlevine@yahoo.com.

After posting the new version of Cookie Jar, I realized that the code I posted contained a bug which wouldn’t allow Netscape cookie data to be viewed. Then, while delving through the code, I found an even worse bug. It seemed that trying to view any cookie’s data would overwrite Netscape’s Cookies.txt file (effectively deleting all your Netscape Cookies). I’ve posted a fixed version.

Wow. Two updates in one day. (Ok, so the last one was done around midnight and this one was done about 9pm Eastern.) I’ve posted a new version of Cookie Jar. By double-clicking on an item, you can now look at the data the site is storing on your computer.

Please excuse the mess. This is a hastily put together page made to highlight a few programs I’m working on. I’ll spruce this page up more later. That said, check out the first of my Toolbox offerings: Cookie Jar.